Best Biscuit Recipe

Biscuits are what take us into the kitchen today to cook: fat, flaky mounds of quick bread, golden brown, with a significant crumb. Composed of flour, baking powder, fat and a liquid, then baked in a hot oven, they are an excellent sop for sorghum syrup, molasses or honey. They are marvelous layered with country ham or smothered in white sausage gravy, with eggs, with grits. Biscuits are easy to make. (A food processor makes easy work of this recipe. If youre looking to buy one, check out this guide from our colleagues at The Sweethome.)

Homemade Biscuits

This recipe can be doubled to make 12 biscuits.

Prep: 15min

Total: 27min

Yield: 6

Serving Size: 1 biscuit

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 biscuit, calories 280 kcal, Carbohydrate 36 g, Protein 5 g, Fat 13 g, Saturated Fat 8 g, Cholesterol 33 mg, Sodium 405 mg, Fiber 1 g, Sugar 4 g

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour ((250g))
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter (very cold (85g), unsalted European butter is ideal, but not required)
• ¾ cup whole milk¹ ((177ml) buttermilk or 2% milk will also work)

Instruction:

1. For best results, chill your butter in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before beginning this recipe. It’s ideal that the butter is very cold for light, flaky, buttery biscuits.
2. Preheat oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with nonstick parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.
4. Remove your butter from the refrigerator and either cut it into your flour mixture using a pastry cutter or (preferred) use a box grater to shred the butter into small pieces and then add to the flour mixture and stir.
5. Cut the butter or combine the grated butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
6. Add milk, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until combined (don’t over-work the dough).
7. Transfer your biscuit dough to a well-floured surface and use your hands to gently work the dough together. If the dough is too sticky, add flour until it is manageable.
8. Once the dough is cohesive, fold in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten layers together. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again, repeating this step 5-6 times but taking care to not overwork the dough.
9. Use your hands (do not use a rolling pin) to flatten the dough to 1″ thick and lightly dust a 2 ¾” round biscuit cutter with flour.
10. Making close cuts, press the biscuit cutter straight down into the dough and drop the biscuit onto your prepared baking sheet.
11. Repeat until you have gotten as many biscuits as possible and place less than ½” apart on baking sheet.
12. Once you have gotten as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, gently re-work the dough to get out another biscuit or two until you have at least 6 biscuits.
13. Bake on 425F for 12 minutes or until tops are beginning to just turn lightly golden brown.
14. If desired, brush with melted salted butter immediately after removing from oven. Serve warm and enjoy.

Perfect Homemade Biscuits

These easy, homemade biscuits are soft, fluffy, made completely from scratch and can be on your table in about 15 minutes! A weekend staple in our house!

Prep: 5min

Total: 15min

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 246 kcal, Carbohydrate 28 g, Protein 4 g, Fat 12 g, Saturated Fat 7 g, Cholesterol 46 mg, Sodium 214 mg, Sugar 4 g, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup COLD butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup whole milk

Instruction:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. The secret to excellent biscuits is COLD BUTTER. Really cold. Many times the biscuit dough gets worked so much that the butter softens before the biscuits even go in the oven. Try cutting the butter into small pieces and stick back in the fridge pulling out only when ready to incorporate into the dough.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Use a pastry cutter to cut cold butter into flour mixture. Don’t go too crazy here – you want to see small, pea-sized pieces of butter throughout the dough.
5. Add in the milk and egg and mix just until the ingredients are combined. The dough will be sticky but don’t keep working it. You should be able to see the butter pieces in the dough.
6. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface. Sprinkle some flour on to the top of dough so it won’t stick to your fingers and knead 10-15 times. If the dough is super sticky just sprinkle on some additional flour.
7. Pat the dough out to 3/4 – 1 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter or glass. I ended up with nine this time but depending on who is snacking on biscuit dough, I can get up to 12 biscuits.
8. Place the biscuits on a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.
9. For extra yumminess, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter…

Biscuit Recipe

The BEST biscuit recipe! These homemade biscuits are fluffy and tender with lots of flaky layers. They’re perfect for slathering with butter and honey.

Prep: 15min

Total: 30min

Yield: 12

Serving Size: 1 biscuit

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 biscuit, calories 179 kcal, Carbohydrate 22 g, Protein 3 g, Fat 9 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 22 mg, Sodium 108 mg, Fiber 1 g, Sugar 2 g

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup milk (or buttermilk)
• milk, buttermilk or cream (for brushing on biscuit tops)

Instruction:

1. Place butter in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 425° F with a rack in the upper third of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Whisk together until well combined.
4. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add the butter to the bowl and mix it into the dry ingredients using your hands or a fork.
5. Pour the 1 cup milk or buttermilk into the bowl and use a fork to stir until the dough comes together. It is ok if there are a few bits of flour not yet incorporated, but if the dough seems very dry and is not coming together add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk or buttermilk.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat the dough into a 1½-inch thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half on top of itself and pat it down into another 1½-inch thick rectangle. Repeat the folding process 4 to 6 times. Then press the dough down into a 1-inch thick rectangle.
7. Use a biscuit cutter (mine measures 2 ¼-inches) to cut out the biscuits, pressing it straight down into the dough without twisting. Once you’ve cut out as many biscuits as you can, gather the scraps and pat the dough out to 1-inch thickness a second and third time to finish cutting out all of the biscuits. Place them on the prepared baking sheet.
8. Brush the biscuit tops with milk, buttermilk or cream. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown.

Our Favorite Fluffy Biscuits

These are the most tender and fluffy homemade biscuits we’ve ever made. Our recipe calls for flour, butter, baking powder, baking soda, and milk. These biscuits are big, tall, tender, and delicious. My preferred method is to get out my food processor. It’s an excellent tool for cutting the cold butter into our flour mixture since it’s quick. If you don’t feel like getting your food processor out, you can use your hands or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the flour (tips are provided in the notes section).

Prep: 15min

Total: 30min

Yield: Makes 7 to 8 biscuits

Serving Size: 1 Biscuit (8 total)

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 Biscuit (8 total), calories 211, Fat 9g, Saturated Fat 5.5g, Cholesterol 23.4mg, Sodium 279.4mg, Carbohydrate 29.6g, Fiber 1g, Sugar 2.9g, Protein 4.2g

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour, see notes for self-rising flour
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, see notes
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (207 ml) whole milk or buttermilk

Instruction:

1. Heat the oven to 425° Fahrenheit and set aside an oven-safe 10-inch or 12-inch skillet like a cast iron pan or, if you do not have one, set aside a baking sheet instead.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse three to four times so that it is mixed.
3. Cut the cold butter into cubes or thin slices, then scatter it over the flour in the food processor. Pulse 5 to 7 times or until the butter turns into tiny bits — see our photos and video for reference.
4. Empty the butter-flour mixture into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle, and then pour in the milk (or buttermilk). Stir until a shaggy dough forms.
5. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top, and then bring the dough together with your hands. It might be a bit sticky, so add flour as needed.
6. Without working the dough too much, pat it down into a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter — see our photos and video for reference. Rotate the rectangle 90 degrees, and then repeat this process two more times.
7. Pat the dough into a rectangle between 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch thick. Then use a biscuit cutter to cut out your biscuits — we use a 3-inch round cutter. Do not twist the cutter, as this will seal the edges of the biscuits and prevent them from rising.
8. Place the cut-out biscuits into the skillet (or onto a baking sheet). Keeping them close to each other helps them rise.
9. Gently press together the scraps and use them to make more biscuits, but be careful not to overwork the dough, or else they will be tough.
10. Bake the biscuits until golden brown and have risen, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

How to Make Flaky Biscuits

FAQ

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